Reflection for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Trapped.

I urge you, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

It is said that a Sunday’s first reading and gospel deliver the same message. They closely follow the same theme. The Epistle however always seems to stand out as something different and apart.

The key to understanding the Epistle, the letters, is that they effectuate the Old Testament readings and gospels. Epistles are the game plan for how we are to carry out what God has given us. It is what we allow ourselves to be trapped into doing in accepting the great love of God.

Jeremiah laments the fact that God has given him a very hard message to proclaim. He has to preach the disaster that will come upon Israel if they will not turn away from their evils, their worship of false gods. 

In lamenting what he must preach, Jeremiah realizes that no matter how much he would wish it, he cannot hold it in. He has to do as God has asked. I will not mention Him, I will speak in His name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart. Jeremiah is trapped because the powerful love and truth of God are irrefutable.

Now, Peter thought he knew what he must say. After proclaiming Jesus to be God, Peter decides he is going to teach God. Jesus gives him a quick lesson which is also meant for us. If we wish God’s love, we must surrender. We must stop thinking our way and start thinking God’s way. We must be willing to hand it all over to God and be trapped up by and in Him.

Our instinct is to escape being trapped, to free ourselves and do as we please. Humans hate being trapped, we feel like we’re in the Poseidon, an overturned ship, trying to find a way out. Paul knew that, he realized it on the road when Jesus confronted him. His choice, allow himself to be trapped up into Jesus’ way, or get back on his donkey and live a valueless life.

Today, Paul tells us how we put those lessons from the first reading and gospel into action. We offer ourselves, our wills and ways sacrificially allowing ourselves to be trapped into the life of God. True love is to give oneself over. Once trapped in the life of God, we do His will, because like Jeremiah, we can do no other. We let our old ways dissolve as our minds are renewed. Getting rid of our ‘conformity to the as-is,’ allows us to be good and pleasing and perfect. In being trapped we are freed.

Reflection for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Less God?

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

It is the question of the ages, Who do you say that I am? This question, to the Apostles, should not have been a surprise. It is the same question God presented to Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, the Judges, kings, and prophets. In each instance, Who do you say that I am?

Peter answers in the same way the rest would answer. He answers in the same way the faithful have always answered. In faith (which is the rock), he clearly stated that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. You are God, my God.

As with the rest of the Apostles, and as was done before them by the prophets, judges, kings, and every person on earth, we quickly go from proclamation to a failure to follow through. We somehow lose touch with the fact that we just proclaimed God to be our God, and suddenly consider Him ‘less God.’

It happened to Peter right after this bold proclamation, He suddenly saw Jesus as ‘less God.’ He told Jesus He believed Him to be God, then told Him – You’re wrong.

This is our predicament as Christians. We are really asked to do very few things. Proclaim salvation in Jesus. Accept Him in faith, live the gospel message by doing love, and give God the worship. All Church laws and dogmas come down to that. We worship Jesus, who is God, and do what He said, for that is the perfection of truth; God’s wisdom laid out before us. All we have to do is take up and do what God said, but we don’t.

When we proclaim the creed, we will attest to the fact that Jesus is true God and true man. He is not half-and-half, more of one, less of the other. He is the fullness and completeness of both. So, His words and example are the way to live. His is the way we are to follow. Perfect instruction.

Consider the question of faith; our desire to cling to and fully believe: â€œYou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Let us ask ourselves whether our lives speak the truth of our belief. Is Jesus God for me, or is He ‘less God?’

Much seems to get in the way. What does for us? Desires, politics, personalities, angers, having it our way, hypocrisy, thinking we are right, property over people, nation over God, the need to state our opinion? It is the question of the ages. If He is nothing less than God, let us put all that aside and live like He really is our God.

Reflection for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

I brought dinner.

But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” 

Yesterday, after Holy Mass for the Dormition, I had the opportunity to spend time with our friend, Bishop Judy Murphy-Jack, Miss Adrienne from Team Esteem, and the Hon. Owusu Anane, a member of Albany’s Common Council. We sat on Bishop’s porch in a beautiful neighborhood on a great day and strategized ideas to address the serious matters pressing on the people of our region and the city. While weighty matter, just spending time on a porch in an old school way and talking with people of faith uplifted us and gave us renewed hope.

The Canaanite woman had serious weighty matter to discuss with Jesus. She wanted to sit on his porch and tell Him about her daughter and her needs. In hope, she sounded the age-old cry of people of faith, â€œLord, help me.”

Jesus’ response was not welcoming. He basically said, Look, I brought dinner, but it is not for you. He referred to her as a dog, a Jewish term of contempt for Gentiles. Yet, He would not concede to the disciples request to send her away. He left the door open as He had in prior encounters with the Gentiles. Jesus leaves the door open to all who want to come onto His porch, to talk with Him, and to eat at His table, but we must take action.

In Jesus’ day, Canaanite was an ancient term for a people who did not know God, worshiped false gods, and were God’s enemies. This Canaanite woman, at face value a false god worshipper, needed to show the truth of her faith; Jesus could not just snap His fingers and make her a believer. She does and hangs on through Jesus ignoring her and telling her that the dinner was not for her. She does not take silence or “no” for an answer. She takes the action necessary to show herself as God’s faithful daughter, not an enemy of God. Jesus then grants her request.

Sophia comes here today as an outsider and will leave as one who will now have the opportunity to fully grow into a person of faith, a believer. It won’t just happen, no magic finger snapping here. To help her grow and enjoy porch time with Jesus and the dinner Jesus brought will take work. Sophia, those who brought her, and we commit to taking on the work of building her into a faithful daughter. Let us all commit to helping her become that woman of wisdom who hears Jesus say: â€œO woman, great is your faith!” and whose hope is constantly renewed.

Reflection for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Stand up.

“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.”

The Lord is passing by, stand up, get ready.

As a youth, I loved the anticipation visits from family held. We had family in Hamtramck, Miami, and parts of Delaware. We also had loads of family locally in Buffalo. 

We were fortunate to have my grandmother, my Busia, living with us. She and my aunt moved in with us after my dad died. Beside just having Busia in the house, we were blessed to have in her a wonderful, from scratch cook, and someone who could garden better than anyone I have ever met.

With Busia in the house, our home became a required stop for family. Her seven surviving children (three died during the epidemics of the late nineteen-teens and early nineteen-twenties) and their children came to visit their mom and spend time.

Anticipation was always present because you never knew who would stop by, or even when. I remember a car pulling up with relatives from Hamtramck one night at about 9pm. No cell phones then, no way to text. People just came by. Hi, where are we staying? We weren’t ready!

Elijah at least knew the Lord would be passing by. The Lord gave him that message. Elijah looked and looked, exploring every event to see if it was the Lord. Like a child standing at a window, anticipating a visit, so Elijah waited at the mouth of the cave. Finally, he experienced the Lord’s presence in the most unexpected of ways, in a whisper.

The disciples in the boat did not even know the Lord was on the way. Suddenly, like relatives from Hamtramck, there He was. Sometime between 3 and 6am, Jesus came toward them. Where am I going to stay?

Yes, Jesus is passing by. We have the opportunity to enjoy His all-abiding presence. He desires to reside with us, to stay, and we miss out if we are not anticipating, if we are not standing up, waiting at the window. We miss out and sink if we take our eyes off the possibilities of Jesus’ presence.

Faith calls us to live in eager anticipation. We do that by regular focused prayer, biblical reading, Sunday worship, and contemplation of His dwelling with us. The Lord is passing by, stand up, get ready. He is right outside our window saying, ‘Where will I stay?’ It is time to invite Him in to stay. He will, and He will calm the storms, give the reassurance we so need, and save us from the troublesome depths.

Reflection for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Every taste.

Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare.

I’m going to ask for some votes, those of you here, and those watching remotely: Who likes steak the best? Fish? Veggies? Cake?  Ice cream? A full-on breakfast with bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, and waffles? Salads?

Now imagine I were to walk among you and offer each of you a wonderful slice of Wonder Bread. Plain, white, bland Wonder Bread. Actually, growing up, I would pass by the Wonder Bread factory in Buffalo, just off Genesee Street. It smelled wonderful each morning. So, ok, I like Wonder Bread.

Now, imagine you are holding that plain old piece of Wonder Bread. I ask you to sniff it, to taste it, and your taste buds come alive. You taste that thing you love the best. For you it is steak, fish, veggies, cake, ice cream, bacon and eggs, sausage and pancakes and waffles, that favorite salad.

Wisdom 16:20-21 speaks of the Manna that God gave to His children as they wandered through the desert: You nourished Your people with food of angels and furnished them bread from heaven, ready to hand, untoiled-for, endowed with all delights and conforming to every taste. For this substance of Yours revealed Your sweetness toward Your children, and serving the desire of the one who received it, was changed to whatever flavor each one wished.

The Manna was not simply flakes that could be made into a dough, it was real food that fulfilled the needs and desires of each of the Father’s faithful. It was an expression of God’s sweetness and care toward His children.

God’s great love is wonderfully expressed in the manner in which He feeds us, fulfills us, and brings us to completion. He feeds us in every way we need, never bland Wonder bread, but as Isaiah tells us: a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. We eat well and delight in rich fare when we partake in what God provides, His word, His way of living and interacting, in worshiping Him and living that kingdom moment out each day.

In feeding us His Body and Blood, in allowing us to be the people to Eucharist as one, Jesus renews His covenant with us forever. He feeds us. He is our waybread, the perfect food for the journey to the kingdom, the food that grows us into His image. From Jesus to us, the crowd. We have His free, rich, untoiled-for food; a pure blessing poured out on us over and over.

Reflection for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Let’s sell.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

Three psychiatric patients are eager to be released from the hospital, but the doctor has to examine their judgment skills. One by one he takes them to the edge of an empty swimming pool and tells them they must chose to jump or not. Take the risk or don’t. It is obvious the pool has no water, but they must choose.

The first patient looks at the pool and jumps in without hesitation, hurting his ankle. The doctor tells him, “You failed the examination, and must stay another year.” The patient left sad. The second patient also jumps in and hurts his shoulder. The doctor says, “Sir, you failed the exam and must stay another year.” This patient also leaves sad and discouraged. The third patient walks up to the pool’s edge, thinks for a while, shakes his head and says, “No way!” The doctor was happy and said, “Sir, you have good judgment and you are released from the hospital.” The patient jumped for joy. Then the doctor asked the happy patient, “What made you decide not to jump into the pool?” The patient answered, “Oh, that’s easy. I don’t know how to swim!”

We all believe we have great judgment and know how to prioritize. We say things like, “My family is really important.” Yet, statistics reveal that people spend very little time on family. We might say, “Our health is really important.” Yet few commit to exercise or even eat right. More than half of all American are obese. We say we are not materialistic, yet three-quarters of Americans are in debt to credit cards alone, not counting car and house loans.

Is God important to us? “Yes! 95% of Americans in the U.S. say, “God is important to me.” Yet only 9% of Americans attend church, and only 2% are involved in any ministry.

Look, it is not about our bad choices or our sinfulness. We jump into empty pools and we injure ourselves. Christ didn’t die for us because we were perfect or committed. He didn’t wait for us to get our act sorted out; to be righteous. Rather, He searched for us, He gave His all for us. There’s no room for thinking ‘what I sell or give up will make Him love me more.’ What does give us glory is to love God, to follow His call, and to do it now, to be all in for the kingdom today, every day.

Reflection for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Leave the weeds.

His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest

My mom had a great bookshelf in her room. I used to sit in front of that bookshelf just pondering the titles – classics of literature, a book on the adopted family, and a set of books in a series about homes and gardens. These books had to date from the late 1950s or early 1960s. I can imagine my parents amassing this encyclopedia of home and garden just after they purchased their house.

These books were beautifully illustrated. They had architectural drawings, garden layouts, and idealized drawings and photos of beautifully manicured and cultured lawns and gardens. I wanted that! I would look out the windows of our home, holding the books, and imagined creating that look in our small back yard; its existing look not perfect enough. Oh, and there were weeds. Weeds were the enemy of perfection.

You can imagine my surprise on one of those idyllic summer Sundays as Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds was read. We had to leave the weeds. My little structured world of perfect lawns and raised flower beds had to take a back seat to Jesus’ command. Some in our congregation live this today. They allow nature to take its course, not disturbing the wheat or the weeds. I think they understand better than I did.

In its essence, Jesus’ parable is about conflict and destruction. The Jewish people would have understood that enemies sowed choking weeds in crops, a war tactic aimed at destruction. Jesus likened the sowing of weeds to the work of the enemy, Satan, who in all respects seeks to destroy us. The slaves, we who follow Jesus, have an initial reaction to destruction that itself focuses on destruction. Let’s go out and destroy the weeds. Abigail Van Buren once said, “People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.” Destruction of the weeds only leads to the destruction of the good. The result of the sinful tendency in us is our giving in to destruction.

As Jesus’ people, we are called to plant, nurture, feed, grow, and also bear the weeds. We are not called to the position of harvester. That is Jesus’ job. By our action, perhaps in the weeds, we will find a new crop for the Lord. We will give all the chance and opportunity to grow. In the midst of conflict we are to reject destruction and leaven the world for growth.

Reflection for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Blessed those.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

One of the wonderful things about our Holy Church is the great emphasis it places on the Word of God. 

In September 1909 the Holy Synod of the Church developed an understanding of the preaching and teaching of the Word of God as having sacramental action. A later report of the Synod, printed in 1913 said: “Hearing of the Word of God preached according to the teachings of Christ the Lord and the Apostles, has sacramental force, that is, it causes in us the same effects as does the receiving of the other sacraments.”

The sacramental effect of the Word is included in the Church’s Confession of Faith (Article 7).

This understanding is based on the many references throughout Scripture, spoken by Jesus, relating the power of the Word. In fact, Jesus, as the Word of God Himself, comes to us in our hearing of the Word.

That union with Jesus in the Word is the very definition of sacrament, for a sacrament is an encounter with the sacred in a physical way. In baptism, it is washing with water, in communion the reception of the Bread and Blood of Life, in marriage the binding of the couple by the priest, in Unction the anointing and laying on of hands. In the Word it is the speaking and hearing. Each of these a physical manifestation of the encounter with God.

In our Church, our clergy are admonished to have proper preparation, intention, and conformity with the Gospel. Listeners too must be prepared and open to reception.

Today, Jesus speaks of the power of the Word and its effect on those who are properly prepared to receive.

If we receive without the intention of understanding, just frittering off the Word, we lose the grace provided to our condemnation. If we receive the Word with joy, and then walk away ignoring it soon after the hearing, or when confronted, set it aside, grace is lost, and we again fall to condemnation. But if we prepare, provide rich soil for the Word, and allow it to grow and prosper in us, then we have the fullness of grace that makes us effective Christians, bearers of the Word. We are fruitful carriers of Jesus. Blessed we are.

Reflection for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

The Show Must Go On!

you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him

Welcome Kurs campers, my parishioners from Holy Name of Jesus in Schenectady, and faithful from throughout our Church. Welcome to the Bishop Hodur Retreat and Recreation Center, this place of growth and renewal.

You are the little ones that Jesus speak of. What is hidden, what is mysterious, what is impossible for so many people, is obvious to you. 

What do you get that others don’t get?  You get the fact that Jesus has made the way we must go plain, the way we are to live. Those instructions are in the gospels and the writings of the Apostles. Since we get that, that is what we do. Do we get it perfect all the time? No. Are we trying and constantly working at it? Yes.

God has revealed His great plan to us and has told us that His plan relies and depends on us. 

Because we belong to Jesus, He helps us in making His plan work. Jesus does that by taking care of us, by joining us in our work, and most of all by giving us the gift of faith – the faith we hear and feel in our hearts and minds – I hear Him and I respond: I can do it. I can and will get the job done for You, Jesus.

We have strength, understanding, and wisdom not apparent to the world. That strength, understanding, and wisdom gives us confidence to get God’s plan done even when things seem tough. Our vision goes beyond what everyone else sees to what God sees for us and has planned for us.

St. Paul tells us that we can and will carry out God’s plan because we are something different, something out of the ordinary. We could easily say that we are something else! We are extraordinary. All – because we carry His spirit. As Paul clearly states, if we don’t, well what do we have then?

This week our campers will be focusing on the theme: ‘The Show Must Go On.’ Whose show? God’s. Whose work to be done? Jesus’

My dear youth, brothers and sisters, you are in the best position. The spirit of God dwells in you. Don’t forget that. You belong to Jesus. Because of that, the struggles and challenges we all face, the fears we have, although very real to us, are not roadblocks or speedbumps in the way of getting God’s plan done.

Solomon was very young and his father, David handed him the throne and a charge, to build the Temple of God.  The show had to go on. Today, we are charged with carrying out the plan, building the kingdom. The show must go on.

July/August 2020 Newsletter: Justice – Joy to the Righteous

When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.

Proverbs 21:15

I remember those hot summers in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. They were marked by an unease due to the social unrest around me. I used to be a real news junkie and would watch the process of protest unfold each night. Between the ages of 6 and 9 it scared me, and it also marked my psyche and life. Those hot summers of protest did engender change. Voices that needed to be heard were heard. Now they are back. They are needed to make a difference now. The promise of past decades slowed to a crawl and needs to be bought closer to completion. Perhaps it is our general comfort with the way things are. We get used to the status quo. No matter how much we say we like excitement, and things to be different, we don’t. This is why scripture is important. This is why we must study what God has said on the subject, look to God’s design, and then set to work to close the gap between God’s way and what is. Jesus tells us: â€œSo whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” We must live that. We need to ensure action for justice and dignity.

Summer and we have plans to re-open for public worship in our parish on Sunday, July 19th at 10am. Take a look at the required guidelines. We can do this by working together. 

We had a busy June and July/August look to be just as busy. We are looking forward to Virtual Kurs and to re-opening for public worship. We look forward with hope and continue to be the faithful church at home and together.

Read about all it in our July/August 2020 Newsletter.